Holder to NAACP: Trayvon Martin’s Death Was ‘Unnecessary,’ Questions ‘Stereotypes’ and Stand-Your-Ground Laws

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told members of the NAACP Tuesday that Trayvon Martin’s death was “unnecessary” and “tragic” and questioned the wisdom of stand-your-ground self-defense laws that lead to George Zimmerman’s acquittal in the killing of the unarmed teenager in Sanford, Florida.

“I want to assure you of two things: I am concerned about this case and as we confirmed last spring, the Justice Department has an open investigation into it,” Holder said during a keynote speech at the NAACP’s annual convention in Orlando, Florida.

“It’s time to question laws that senselessly expand the concept of self-defense and sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods,” Holder said. “These laws try to fix something that was never broken. There has always been a legal defense for using deadly force if – and the “if” is important – no safe retreat is available.”

Zimmerman, 29, was acquitted Saturday of killing Trayvon Martin on a rainy street on February 26, 2012. Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense but prosecutors said Zimmerman was guilty of racial profiling and murder because he followed Martin only because he was black.

Holder said it’s time to openly address racial profiling in America.

“And we must confront the underlying attitudes, mistaken beliefs, and unfortunate stereotypes that serve too often as the basis for police action and private judgments,” he said.

Holder told NAACP members that years ago his father talked to him about how a young black man should interact with the police, what to say, and how to conduct himself if he was ever stopped by police.

“The news of Trayvon Martin’s death last year, and the discussions that have taken place since then, reminded me of my father’s words so many years ago,” Holder said.

“And they brought me back to a number of experiences I had as a young man – when I was pulled over twice and my car searched on the New Jersey Turnpike when I’m sure I wasn’t speeding, or when I was stopped by a police officer while simply running to a catch a movie, at night in Georgetown, in Washington, D.C. I was at the time of that last incident a federal prosecutor,” Holder said.